Tag: midSeptember

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Health

Pentagon to require all service members to get Covid vaccine by mid-September

Pentagon to require all service members to get Covid vaccine by mid-September

A U.S. Marine receives the Moderna coronavirus vaccine at Camp Foster on April 28, 2021 in Ginowan, Japan.

Carl Hof | Getty Images

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon said Monday it would try to make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for service members by mid-September at the latest.

President Joe Biden supported the move.

“I am proud that our military and men will continue to take the lead in the fight against this pandemic, as is so often the case, by setting a good example to protect their fellow Americans,” the president said in a statement on Monday afternoon.

In a message to the force, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he had consulted with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, secretaries and chiefs of sister service branches, and the White House Covid Task Force before reaching that decision.

“I have every confidence that the service and your commanders will implement this new vaccination program with professionalism, skill and compassion,” Austin wrote in his memo to all Department of Defense officials.

United States President Joe Biden listens as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, USA on Wednesday, February 10, 2021.

Michael Reynolds | Bloomberg | Getty Images

“We will also keep a close eye on the infection rates that are now increasing with the Delta variant and their impact on our operational readiness President, if I think it is necessary,” wrote Austin.

The decision is made because the delta variant of Covid-19 is spreading rapidly, driving up hospital stays and serious illnesses in unvaccinated people.

The Pentagon says roughly half the U.S. military is already fully vaccinated, with the Navy recording the highest vaccination rates. The Navy says about 73% of sailors are fully vaccinated.

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The military already requires vaccinations against several other diseases.

The White House welcomed Austin’s decision, saying the vaccines were safe and would “help our service members stay healthy, better protect their families and ensure our armed forces are operational anywhere in the world.”

“These vaccines will save lives. Period. You are safe. They’re effective, ”said Biden.

According to the Pentagon, 28 service members have died as a result of Covid since the outbreak of the corona virus.

Categories
World News

N.Y.C. to Require Metropolis Staff to Be Vaccinated by Mid-September

N.Y.C. to Require City Workers to Be Vaccinated by Mid-September

Attempts to get Americans vaccinated accelerated on Monday when the most populous state and largest city in the United States announced it would require its employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or have frequent testing.

All New York City urban workers, including police officers and teachers, as well as all state and local public and private health workers in California, must be vaccinated or tested at least weekly.

The Department of Veterans Affairs also became the first federal agency to order some of its employees vaccinated on Monday.

The mandates are the most dramatic response yet to the sluggish pace of vaccination across the country given the highly contagious Delta variant ripping through communities with low vaccination rates and one by federal health officials as a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

According to federal data, only 49 percent of people in the United States are fully vaccinated.

Misinformation and skepticism have haunted the launch of the vaccine, and in recent weeks coronavirus infections and hospital admissions have risen, with the number of new cases per day quadrupling in the past month.

Yet all three indicators are well below last winter’s devastating winter peaks, and vaccines have proven to be very effective protection against the coronavirus. Cities, private employers and other institutions are increasingly turning to mandates to ensure that more people are vaccinated.

Hospitals and health systems like New York-Presbyterian and Trinity Health have announced vaccination mandates and in some cases sparked union protests. The National Football League announced that it would punish teams with players who fail to be vaccinated. Delta Air Lines requires that new employees be vaccinated, but not current employees. And last week, a federal judge ruled that Indiana University could require vaccinations for students and staff.

New York City will require its approximately 340,000 urban workers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or undergo weekly tests until schools reopen in mid-September, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

The new California requirement, which will apply to approximately 246,000 state workers and many more healthcare workers, will be implemented by Aug. 23, Governor Gavin Newsom said.

At the VA, one of the largest federal employers and the largest integrated health system in the country, government officials said 115,000 frontline health workers will have to get vaccinated over the next two months. “I’m doing this because it’s the best way to protect our veterans, period,” said Denis McDonough, the veterans affairs secretary, in a telephone interview on Monday.

Eliza Shapiro, Dan Levin and Shawn Hubler contributed to the coverage.

Categories
Business

Face masks requirement for planes, buses and trains prolonged via mid-September

Biden signs order requiring travelers wear masks on planes and at airports as pandemic rages

Passengers, almost all with face masks, board an American Airlines flight to Charlotte on May 3, 2020 in New York City.

Eleanor Sens | AFP | Getty Images

Are you traveling this summer? Don’t forget your mask.

The Transportation Security Administration on Friday expanded a federal obligation requiring travelers to wear face masks on buses, trains, commercial flights and at airports. The requirement expired on May 11th and is now valid until September 13th.

In February, by order of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency demanded that people over the age of 2 wear masks on flights, buses, trains and public transport.

There are exceptions for some disabilities, the TSA said. Fines for refusing to adhere to the rules start at $ 250 and go up to $ 1,500 for repeated violations.

Airlines have urged passengers to wear masks for much of the past year as Covid-19 continued to spread, but unions have pushed the Biden administration for a federal mask mandate to aid cabin crews tasked with enforcing the rules. The airlines have banned more than 2,000 passengers for non-compliance with mask requirements.

Airlines for America, an industry group representing most of the major US airlines, welcomed the expansion of the mask requirement and said that “the federal mandate for face-covering has greatly strengthened the ability of our flight crews to enforce these requirements on-board.”

The Federal Aviation Administration introduced a “zero tolerance” policy for recalcitrant travelers in January after a surge in incidents, many of which affected travelers refusing to wear masks.

“Mask compliance is key to air travel confidence as we are on the road to recovery, which includes international travel,” said Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the union that Cabin crews at United, Spirit and other agents representing a dozen airlines said in a statement following the decision.

“We are also responsible for ensuring that aviation does not contribute to the spread of the virus or any other variant. We applaud Administrator Pekoske and the Biden Administration for taking steps to ensure we can better dismantle,” Nelson said.

About half of adults in the United States are at least partially vaccinated, according to federal data. Airline executives have reported higher bookings since vaccines were introduced and more tourist attractions reopened.